Executive function (EF) plays a foundational role in development. A brain-based model of EF development is probed for the experiences that strengthen EF in the dimensional change card sort task in which children sort cards by one rule and then are asked to switch to another. Three-year-olds perseverate on the first rule, failing the task, whereas…

Three investigations and one main experiment examined whether children ages four to seven differentiate between the causal mechanisms appropriate for different conceptual domains. Results suggest that preschoolers prefer natural mechanisms for color inheritance in biological kinds and recognize the importance of human intentions in producing the…

Four experiments tested three to six year olds' and adults' understanding of animals' growth changes. All subjects understood that animals get larger with age. Older children and adults, but not younger children, allowed for dramatic changes in the size and shape of animals over the animals' lifespans. (BC)